Artificial Intelligence: The Celebration Lit Blog Tour and Giveaway of Operation Grendel

About the Book

Book:  Operation Grendel

Author: Daniel Shwabauer

Genre: Christian Fiction, Futuristic Action & Adventure

It’s the war story he’s dreamed of. But the battle may cost him his mind.

Military journalist Raymin Dahl thinks he’s finally getting the story of a lifetime. Secret peace talks on a remote tropical moon are about to surrender five colonized worlds—and six hundred million civilians—to a ruthless enemy.

 

But when his commanding officer, Captain Ansell Sterling, is fatally wounded before the negotiations can begin, Dahl can no longer just report on the mission. He’s ordered to complete it. With help from the AI embedded in Sterling’s comms bracelet, Dahl must impersonate his commander—a Marine Corps hero and psychological operations expert.

 

However, Sterling’s AI may be luring him to surrender more than he realizes. And the mission Corporal Dahl thinks he’s running isn’t the only operation underway.

 

Click here to get your copy!

Book Review

I am not usually a big fan of science fiction outside of anything Star Wars related, but this book sounded intriguing. A military journalist thrown into the midst of war, forced to impersonate his commanding officer, and being stuck with an AI he’s not certain he can trust? My curiosity was piqued.

I liked how Schwabauer wrote the novel in a way that the reader didn’t know who to trust or who to believe. It left me turning the pages, needing to know what was going to happen.

I do have to say, though, that I had a hard time getting into the book. I think part of it had to do with the fact that I couldn’t seem to connect with the main character, Raymin. I just found him too cocky for my taste.

I also had a hard time connecting with the story because there was not a lot of world-building. It is very much plot driven. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but I think I would’ve been able to enjoy the novel more if I had been able to see what the world that Raymin Dahl lived in looked like.

Overall, though, I would recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of science fiction. It’s interesting and written in a way that will make you not want to put the novel down.

I had received a copy of this book as part of the Celebrate Lit Blogging Team and was required to give an honest review.

About the Author

Daniel Schwabauer, M.A., is a lifelong reader of speculative fiction. He studied the genre under science fiction great James Gunn before graduating with honors from Kansas University’s Masters program in Creative Writing in 1995. Winner of the Eric Hoffer and Ben Franklin awards for his middle grade fantasy series, The Legends of Tira-Nor, Daniel enjoys riding his motorcycle on country roads and pondering other worlds. He lives in Kansas City with his wife and dog.

 

More from Daniel

The Operation Grendel Origin Story

 

I’ve always been fascinated by the power of storytelling, especially as a lever for moving culture.  For several years I studied the development of modern propaganda, the rise and fall of yellow journalism, and the relationship of these to psychological warfare. This culminated in 2017 with a brief investigation into quantum computing and the rising popularity of trans-humanism. Sometimes the best story ideas are combinations of things that have rattled around in the back of your mind for years.

 

Operation Grendel is a keyhole glimpse of a future in which every person in the galaxy is bonded to an artificial intelligence. Some AIs are embedded in the brain, and some are snapped onto the wrist as a wearable device. I didn’t realize when I started writing the book that Elon Musk had already launched Neuralink to create this technology in real life. I discovered the corporation after finishing my fourth draft.

 

The use of this technology probably means a lack of autonomy. How can you think for yourself, or even know what you think, if your thoughts are constantly being shaped and influenced by a quantum computer wirelessly connected to your brain?

 

Then again, is that all we really are as humans—biological computers? I don’t think so. But if not, then there will surely be resistance to the trans-humanist movement. Which means, in a work of fiction, clearly opposing sides. One empire supports this integration of man and machine; the other places limits on AI technology.

 

But “warring empires” was not a story I felt capable of telling. I wanted something closer to home, something smaller and more accessible, something more human. I wanted to show what a life spent entirely under the influence of an inner nanny—a substitute Holy Spirit—might look like.

 

Well, who better to tell that story than a man who has, in his own way, been manipulating others through storytelling? In other words, a journalist.

 

This fit my desire to write the story as military science fiction. Since I never had the honor of serving in the armed forces, I needed a way to give my narrator a believable voice. Corporal Raymin Dahl, a military reporter who barely scraped his way through reservist boot camp, fit the bill.

 

Before long the story seemed to take on a life of its own.

 

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, March 30

Mia Reads, March 30

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, March 31

Wishful Endings, April 1

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 1

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, April 2

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, April 3

Woven by Words, April 3

Through the Fire Blogs, April 4

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 5

Adventures Of A Travelers Wife, April 5

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, April 6

Texas Book-aholic, April 7

April Hayman, Author, April 7

Inklings and notions, April 8

Rebecca Tews, April 9

For Him and My Family, April 10

deb’s Book Review, April 11

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 12

Labor Not in Vain, April 12

Giveaway

To celebrate his tour, Daniel is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon card, a signed copy of the hardcover first edition, and 2 laptop stickers!! (photo attached)

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

Giveaway